Mari Sunna at Villa Gyllenberg in Helsinki

Mari Sunna is among the fifteen artist presented in a group exhibition titled Morbus. The exhibition, curated by Magdalena Åberg, opens 2 April and runs until 21 September at Villa Gyllenberg, Helsinki.

Morbus (Latin: disease, illness) explores the theme of illness and getting sick. How do we relate to the body and illness in our performance-oriented and health-obsessed culture, where fear illness and the decay of the body? We believe we can control our bodies, and we strive for unrealistic physical perfection. The body and our health have become a life-filling project where there is no room for reflection on vulnerability and mortality. The fragility and inadequacy that are components of being sick remind us of our mortality and foster compassion for one another. The works presented in the exhibition ponder whether we can also find beauty inside our body, even in its illness.

Image: Mari Sunna, Pray, 2012, oil on canvas, 35 x 30 cm